Spiderbite
by Major Mario
Summary: Fantasy AU- Soulsca used to be a lovely city before Bison and his marauders burned it down and slaughtered its people. One of the survivors, a young girl named Juri, flees and finds herself at the mercy of a race of subterranean spiders with carapaces as black as the dark side of the moon. Broken, battered and worse, Juri is met by the spiders' Queen and fate unfolds for them both.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note/Sum:** A fantastical tale about Juri Han… Again!

* * *

"Seona my dear, I've returned."

"So early in the day? Something must be wrong," came the reply from the tall, dark-haired noblewoman. She stepped through various elegantly-designed rooms and gazed at her husband with worry in her pale violet eyes. "Usik, did the council find some-"

Usik, a shorter man with kind hazel eyes and straight dark hair like his wife, crossed the distance between each other and reached for Seona's body to pull her into a comforting embrace. The day was young, the people were safe and content for the moment and the villa hadn't burnt to the ground since Usik last saw it. Though there was a shadow looming over the fantastical city of Soulsca, for the moment the man didn't want to bother his family. They had come so far, earned so many accolades and built up their own future here in this very city- there was no need to put a damper on all of that now with the inconvenient truth.

"It's fine," Usik lied. He put on a forced smile and reached for a lock of Seona's straight hair to edge it back into place. At this time it would be better to feed her a half-truth, and he did just that. "There's been a few problems, most notably a marauder of sorts that has been giving the other cities some trouble. Dangerous? Yes, with his affinity for dark magicks, but there have been others before him, and I assure you that the council and I will do what we can to nip this threat before he rises in power."

"What is this marauder's name?"

"He calls himself 'Bison'. He is a dark, greedy man with delusions of power, but rest assured my dear, he will be taken care of."

The noblewoman gazed at her husband for the longest time as if she knew in her heart that he was lying, that he was worried, but ultimately she had no proof. She shook her head and pressed herself against the man's body to reciprocate his embrace.

"If you say so, husband."

"I do say so," Usik replied in a confident, optimistic tone of voice. He lightly jostled his wife and pulled her away so he could look around her form at their homestead. "I see that our home is still standing, yes?"

"Must you say that every time you return? Yes, yes, I am capable of keeping this home standing, Usik, thank you." Against Seona's best efforts she couldn't help but to smile and turn away from her husband like a coy suitor. "Lessons are finished for the day, but more importantly, the commissions are finished. Would you like to see the silk?"

"I would love to see what you've made, indeed!" Usik made a move to follow his wife, but he stopped in mid-stride. "Wait… Actually, there's someone I'd like to see first."

A brief but uncomfortable silence settled between Seona and Usik, and it was all the former's doing.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"She should be in the garden, at least, she was there last time I checked."

"Well, I hope she hasn't gotten into any trouble during my absence," Usik replied, half-joking, half-sincere.

Everyone in Soulsca regarded Seona as one of the most beautiful women to walk the earth with very few others coming close to her level. An excellent seamstress, Seona had secured her position in the city through hard work and diligence. She was happy with Usik and never strayed from his side. Yet there was a strange, alien coldness to the woman that radiated from her form at all times, even when she was in her husband's embrace. She hardly smiled, rarely laughed and, when it came to children, she wasn't as nurturing as a mother should be. The woman knew love and could bestow it upon others at her will, yet it was in such strange ways.

The woman stared at her husband for a moment longer before gesturing for him to follow.

"Come, I'll show you."

Usik, true to his position as a competent councilman and a stalwart man of the house, paid no mind to the coolness in his wife's voice and followed along after her. They stepped out into a pristine, traditional Soulsca garden with wooden walkways helping them along the perimeter and even over an idyllic stream. Between several hibiscus flower plots and nestled under a covered seating area was a young girl with the same straight raven-colored hair as Seona dressed in a set of practical training clothes. Her back turned to the two adults, she either didn't notice them or didn't care to look up from what she was doing, being all hunched-over and whatnot.

"Child, your father would like to see you."

"If I can hear you behind me, you gotta be able to see me," came the curt response. "Go away. I'm busy."

"Young lady-"

Usik silenced his wife by nudging her aside and moving closer to the young girl. Unlike other times where he smiled, this time in the presence of this little girl his smile was genuine and filled with mirth. He crouched down and tried to peek over the nine-year old's shoulder.

"What's making you so busy? It can't be homework. Did you find something interesting while attending your lessons, Juri?"

The girl, Juri, turned to look at Usik and showed him her dark violet eyes that were just brimming with curiosity and wonder. She glanced over at Seona and wrinkled her nose before smiling at Usik.

"Mhm! I found a spider! Look father, look!"

Normally spiders were tiny, ordinary creatures that posed no threat whatsoever, but the eight-legged bug before Juri's form was cut from a different cloth. Nearly the size of a young kitten and covered with bristles was an ebony spider with a menacing set of fangs and cold, pronounced beady-black eyes. Juri turned back to the spider and pulled out a large grasshopper only to drop it in front of the spider as if this thing was her pet and she was taking care of it. Usik, once he recollected himself from the sight of the spider, noticed that the grasshopper that was now being devoured had been alive at the time, only without its back legs with which to escape.

The thought that his young daughter Juri was cruel and cunning enough to pull the legs off a grasshopper, just like a spider, was more entertaining to Usik than it was disconcerting. He knew that his wife was beside herself in terror in the distance, and he also knew that he too should have been frightened and concerned for his daughter. The ebony spider that Juri treated like a pet wasn't some ordinary creature, and that wasn't because of the size. These 'wretched abominations' originated from an expansive cave complex miles away from Soulsca. Few were the size of the one Juri had; most of them were nearly twice the size of a full-grown man and capable of taking down cattle with a single well-placed pounce.

And to say nothing about the spider's venom…

"Poor girl was lost, so I picked her up and brought her home. She loves grasshoppers," Juri explained. "Maybe I can find a toad here in the garden. Maybe she'll like that."

"You… You picked this thing up with your hands? It could be poisonous, Juri."

"Nuh-uh. She didn't bite me at all. She knows I love all spiders. And they're not poisonous at all!" Juri chirped. "Poisonous means that they'll kill you if you eat them. They're just venomous, father."

Just venomous, she said.

"She's uh… She's quite the cute little thing," Usik mumbled, unsure of what to say.

"Cute? No no no! She's too tough-lookin' to be cute! Tough girls are awesome, not cute- I named her Jorōgumo!"

The spider carried on with devouring that poor grasshopper; oblivious or uncaring of the conversation surrounding it. To Juri's credit she didn't reach over and pet the creature as if it was a common housepet, but she did look over at it with a sickly sweet smile and give it food. Like that marauder Bison had an affinity for dark magicks, it seemed that Usik's daughter Juri had some kind of connection to spiders. It was just a hunch, though the way the spider let loose a few dangerous squeaks and clicks when Usik got too close instead of Juri only helped to support his theory. Seona, being a mother, would want nothing to do with Juri's interest in spiders, but Usik was more forgiving, more understanding. If Juri found delight in those grotesque creatures, then so be it.

Usik lowered himself down to Juri's ear and began to whisper.

"You know we can't keep her, right? Whether or not she's dangerous to you, she's a spider, and you know how much your mother hates spiders."

"I can keep her a secret if you will," Juri offered. "I'll just pretend to let her loose so mother is none the wiser."

"That won't go well. She's more clever than you think."

Juri opened her mouth to retort, yet she couldn't find the words to convince her father. Defeated, she slumped her shoulders and sighed.

"But I really want to keep her!"

"I bet you do, Juri. I bet you do." Sensing his daughter's mood souring, Usik wrapped his arms around her form and pulled her into a gentle embrace. "Don't look so down. You'll find other spiders- maybe you'll find a garden spider too. Those are harmless."

"Harmless and boring," Juri scoffed as she took the embrace in stride. She eventually huffed and wrapped her little arms around her father. "Fiiiiiine, I'll let her go."

"Maybe you'll see this one around the city again, or maybe you'll see it years from now. These kinds live for a long, long time, and I hope you will too."

The little girl in Usik's arms raised her brows in confusion at what her father said, but in his embrace she couldn't say much else in reply. She lingered there for a moment longer before squirming away from him and, as a surprise to both her mother and father, Juri set her hands down beside the dangerous ebony spider and waited for it to waddle onto them. Like a messenger about to release a dove, Juri stood up, passed her mother and wandered out of the garden only to open her hands upon a nearby tree to let her spider free. After all, her parents never said that the spider couldn't be near their home; just not on the property!

Seona slid up beside her husband with a skeptical look in her eye.

"You shouldn't encourage her to seek out more of those wretched things."

"No, I shouldn't, yet she has an uncanny affinity for them, it seems," Usik replied in a hushed tone. "I think she respects the creatures far too much to overstep any boundaries. It seemed like she and that spider had some unspoken trust between each other, which is why she wasn't bitten."

"More intelligent abominations? Usik, I implore you, no good will come from her fascination with spiders."

"I disagree. She could become a renowned entomologist. Besides- and I mean no ill will from this- I believe she got her fascination from you, Seona."

"Me?" Seona replied as if insulted.

"Mhmm. You wove a marvelous dress two years ago, one like so many others that Juri never took an interest to until you remarked that you used spider's silk."

The raven-haired woman placed her head into her hands out of embarrassment.

"And to think she and I finally found some common ground after all these years… Oh, woe is me!"

Usik chuckled and went to grasp his wife by the shoulders and pull her into his side.

"I know that things must be hard for you with her, and I'm willing to bet that things will get even harder as she ages, but so long as she keeps attending her lessons and training under those disciplined monks, I assure you that Juri will blossom into a fine young woman."

Seona kept quiet at that. She wasn't an ignorant woman, but neither was she an optimistic sort either. It wasn't that she didn't have faith in her own daughter; it was that she didn't believe that the future she would be heading towards would be safe enough for her. After all, with that dastard marauder Bison on the loose…

"Hey, come here," Usik cooed to his wife. With Juri oblivious to their parents, the man offered Seona a chaste kiss on the cheek and continued with, "Everything will be fine. Don't worry about a thing."

* * *

As much as the two adults wanted to believe that things would be fine and that all problems and threats would be driven away, there was no outrunning the inevitable. Usik himself believed that there was a target on his head, and so he spent his time wisely with his family over the years. He went to his daughter's martial arts tournaments, attended his wife's art shows and lectures and did all that he could as a valuable member of Soulsca's council. After Juri's 15th birthday he received a slew of good news about that marauder Bison, all of which told about his retreat from the nearby lands. It seemed that after pillaging plenty of other villages and gathering up diabolical forces, the man had had his fill of bloodshed for the moment which meant that Soulsca would breathe easier.

Alas, when a man like Bison wanted to burn bridges to keep the righteous from following him, he went the extra mile.

It was during the beginning of the dusk hour when a band of bandits, rogue mages and other ne'er do wells came rampaging into Soulsca. Flinging hellfire and brimstone, these men under Bison's banner lit the city aflame and sent the people scurrying for safety only to be cut down in the streets. Guards and righteous mercenaries fought valiantly to defend what few souls they could, but the marauders were very well-equipped and well organized and thus the noble few never even stood a chance. With screams cutting through the night and flames blocking many main escape routes, the entire city was subject to mass confusion and terror.

The Han family took what they could and tried to escape amongst other noble families and councilmen, but they were discovered and suffered a grave fate. Potent black powder concoctions were tossed into the evacuating mass to tear limb from limb with deafening explosions. Usik and Seona were blown away without a second thought while their daughter, Juri, was knocked off her feet and into unconsciousness for a short period of time. She awoke a few minutes later, face-down in the bloody dirt and surrounded by the dead and dying. Through the haze of smog, embers and pain she could see her parents' still bodies and knew from the second her heart sank that they were gone.

With explosions going off all around her and the threat of all-consuming hellfire approaching her from all sides, the young woman soon realized that the only thing she could do was keep moving. Wearing nothing but the clothes on her back Juri limped through destroyed streets and ducked out of sight of anybody, citizen or bandit. Her psyche was hanging on by mere threads while her legs moved independently- she wasn't thinking clearly, but neither could she see clearly either. It was when blood trickled over the left side of her lips that she realized that she had lost her left eye in the chaos.

After staggering about for what seemed like the longest hour of her life Juri managed to make it out of the burning city of Soulsca only to find herself at a dead-end. The city was surrounded by thick forests with only a few safe roads connecting it to other settlements miles away. The north, east and west exits out of Soulsca had the most security and the best roads, not to mention plenty of signs and travelers who could help a frightened young woman get to safety. Juri, however, found herself at Soulsca's south side where not only there were no roads but no safe escape routes. Nearly a hundred meters below a hanging overlook was a dark and dismal forest that Juri was forbidden from entering, and yet as she turned back to find another way, she realized that there were no other options.

A trio of bandits had followed the young woman, and with their weapons bloodied and brought up to bear, there was no hope in reasoning with them or getting past them.

"Whozat? Looks like some dirty orphan."

"Damn right she's an orphan now. I personally blew this brat's parents to bits," cackled a disgusting brute of a man. "Cornered like a rat. Which one of you two wants to finish her off?"

Juri whipped her head to and fro as she looked for other means of escape, yet as the brutish bandit said before, she was cornered. The only option she had was to fall off the cliff behind her and hope that the fall didn't kill her. She glanced over the drop and shuddered when she realized that she couldn't see the bottom through the darkness, nor could she see anything very well with the recent loss of her eye!

"I don't wanna die," Juri hissed to herself, completely oblivious to a lanky bandit notching an arrow to his bow. "I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die…"

THUMPF!

An arrow meant for Juri's heart fell short and plunged deep into the ground by her left foot, completely missing her. However, it was enough to startle the young woman, enough for her to stumble back over the edge of the cliff. Her foot searched for purchase only to fall through the unseen void, and soon the rest of Juri's body had to follow. With a shrill yelp of terror the young woman disappeared over the side of the cliff and fell down to the dark forest below. The three bandits followed her and looked over the side of the cliff to investigate, yet other than a sickening thud and the rustling of tree leaves below, there was no sign of the woman. Pleased, the trio wrote her off and returned to the burning carcass of Soulsca…

* * *

"It is a shame, isn't it? Though the people there weren't the friendliest or the most sympathetic, my heart bleeds for them regardless. So many souls massacred at the coming of nightfall, and so many more still washed away in a sea of fire. This man, this Bison… He is a creature of unparalleled cruelty to unleash this torment on them. Ah, it is no matter."

Silence.

"Yes yes, I assure you all that he has nothing to gain by coming here. We will wait for his marauders to leave that city, then we will take what is left over. The dead and dying will prove useful to us… Let us not let their bodies go to waste."

Again, more silence… That was until a few soft clicks echoed through the dank air.

"And what, pray tell, is so interesting about this one survivor? Hmm… Oh, oh I see. Yes, out of all the souls there, this one has indeed earned a spot in my memory… Wounded, injured… Yes, and a soul filled with rage and vengeance masked by fear… Mhmm, perhaps this one could be useful."

"..."

"Bring her to me."

* * *

Juri didn't remember much after the fall. She may have bawled and screamed, or she may have sat aside in a moment of quiet grief. Her mind may have been filled with naught but thoughts of revenge, or nothing at all. The young woman might have even gotten up shortly after and moved about in a daze, or she chose to remain in a crumpled heap. Whatever it was that she did, nothing would come to her until she eventually awoke from unconsciousness. Whimpering and flinching like a wolf caught in a bear trap Juri opened her one good eye and hoped that all she would see were the leaves of the dark woods before the cold majesty of the full moon in the night sky.

And yet there was no moon to greet her; only the dank, smooth stone of a cavern's ceiling.

"Where the hell… Where am I?" Juri groaned as she went to stand. She looked around the area in search of some kind of marker to guide herself with, yet all she could see was darkness. "My body hurts but… I'm still able to stand?"

After a few minutes Juri's eye would acquaint itself with the darkness enough for her to see, which in turn allowed her to look over her body. She had been participating in a martial arts tournament at the time Bison's bandits arrived in Soulsca, so she had no opportunities to change into something more comfortable. The explosion from however long ago had torn at her top while leaving her baggy training trousers intact. With her left eye destroyed, Juri expected there to be some kind of gruesome reminder along with plenty of blood left over in the socket, yet when she reached up to get a feel for it, her hand came away clean. The same could be said for her limbs which, after falling from a great height and thus should have been broken in multiple places, were completely unscathed save for a few colorful bruises and scrapes.

Clearly, the only logical explanation for her well being was that someone or something used healing magic on her. The evidence was there in her body, be it the refreshed energy in her tendons or the feeling of fresh breath in her lungs. Though Juri wouldn't notice it in the darkness, a puncture wound that looked more like a bitemark on her back between her shoulder blades would silently close up without her noticing at all.

"I should still be in the woods. Somebody must have dragged me here… Wherever here is."

Sparing the grief of losing not only her parents but the city she was born in not too long ago, Juri picked herself up and began to wander. She followed the rays of light shimmering down from cracks in the rocky ceiling and tried to find her way out by going higher, yet each elevated path she took was either a dead-end, blocked off or too intensive to climb and/or squeeze through. At first, Juri remained rather calm about her situation, and to do so was admirable for her, but as time dwindled by and her options grew slim she began to panic. The howling echoes and alien scuttling all around her only served to further her paranoia until the young woman eventually reached her breaking point.

A loud crash and an abysmal screech would stop that from happening. A large ebony spider, larger than a fully-grown grizzly bear, had dropped down from some unforeseen hiding spot in the ceiling and sprawled itself out before Juri. Eight dark eyes focused in on the young woman as the spider's massive mandibles twiddled about in what seemed to be fiendish delight. One bite from such a creature would be enough to lob Juri's head clean off if given the chance, but Juri wasn't willing to give any chances. With a bloodcurdling scream Juri recoiled and snapped back to run back to whence she came and then some; traveling deeper and deeper into the cavern in an attempt to escape the monstrosity chasing her.

And it was indeed chasing her- the way the bear of a spider scuttled after the young woman was the stuff of nightmares. No insect, no matter how big or how small, should have been able to move so quickly over obstacles and keep up with a young woman running for her life. To make matters worse, more ebony spiders would dart out from adjoining tunnels to nip and lunge at Juri. There was no time to think; she just had to keep running. Eventually Juri would reach a tiny, slimy hole of a tunnel that wasn't housing a spider, one that couldn't possibly fit one of those large, lumbering monstrosities. Seeing no other safe haven, Juri flung herself into the hole and shouted as she slid down slime and other unmentionables into a dark, dank abyss.

Tumbling to and fro, Juri's slide into madness incarnate finally came to a screeching halt as she was deposited onto a large, smooth slab of stone in a bruised and battered heap. For a moment Juri would writhe and whimper in pain before she noticed that she wasn't safe. As a matter of fact, she had come out of the frying pan and straight into the fire. Tens upon hundreds of those ebony spiders, the very same ones that had chased her not too long ago, had her surrounded on all sides, all in varying shapes and sizes yet still possessing the same hungry, predatory tendencies. She could see the shimmer of their eyes and the gleaming sharpness of their fangs in the darkness and figured that this was her demise.

But death never came. Instead, the spiders stayed where they were and stared at her form even as others poured into the massive area of this expansive cavern. Confused, terrified and fighting off the beginnings of insanity, Juri was caught off guard by one powerful voice.

"Forgive us for hounding you, young one. When you began to stir, I told the children to leave you be, then, when you were up and about, to lead you down to me. I wanted to know if you still had the will to live, after all," the voice said. "There's nothing like the fear of death to spur one on. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Who… Where are you? What are you?" Juri's head whipped around as she tried to find the source of the voice. There was a mystical echo to the voice, and within it came a whirlwind of many different tones and accents, though Juri could tell that they were all feminine. To make matters even stranger, the voice came from the confines of her own mind as if whoever commanded said voice was a powerful magician, or something very ancient. "What do you want with me?"

"Too many questions, and you're not in any position to receive the answers."

The raven-haired girl didn't like that response and let the voice know that with her constant, fearful vigilance. The idle scuttles and clicking of the spider swarm around her didn't help to calm her down in the slightest.

"I said that I wanted to know if you still had the will to live, and you showed that with your coming here. If I wanted you dead, child, you would have been bisected already," the voice growled in an annoyed tone. "The life you have within your breast is a gift from me now, and I can easily rip it away."

"Please, at least tell me… who are you?"

"I am Larosha, the Ebony Queen."

At those words a giant abomination of a black spider descended from the ceiling and landed right in front of Juri. Nevermind the large bear of a spider that had chased Juri prior; this colossus of a spider was the size of a temple, and it was revered just as much, if not more, by the surrounding spiders. Ancient, alien markings ran up the spider's carapace while eight spindly legs helped to support the main body of the beast. Her abdomen was as swollen and as round as the moon and her fangs were sopping wet with indescribable liquids. And of course, all eyes were upon Juri; a fact that made the girl shudder.

For a moment all was silent, at least until Larosha's mandibles chittered about as she… cackled.

"Well, don't you look like a miserable miscreant. Your clothes are torn, your body battered and your left eye ravaged. And yet here you are, indecent before me. You haven't even tried to run."

"There's nowhere to run," Juri retorted with a hint of indignance in her tone.

"True. That is true."

Larosha's minions soon began to dissipate from the area, whether to attend to their broods, their tunnels, or their queen's unspoken demands. Still others remained to keep a watchful eye on Juri, though such spider guards were small and non-threatening. In hindsight, Juri thought the choice of guards was an insult to her. But she, in her current state at that moment, deserved no better. Indeed she, a scared little girl who had just lost everything including her left eye, was fortunate to still be breathing.

"Hmm! So there is a fire in you, just as I had hoped. One of my caretakers filled your body with strong anodyne, enough to rouse you and keep you going-"

Juri crumpled to the ground.

"-until the adrenaline… Oh. Well, this is to be expected," Larosha muttered. "You are rather weak at the moment. Well, most humans are."

"Don't call me weak."

The giant spider brought her head close to Juri's prone form.

"Do not mumble into my stone floor. You have pride. Show me."

"Don't call me weak!" Juri barked as she propped herself up with her arms. She picked herself up enough to lie on her side. "And don't patronize me! You have no idea… no idea what I've just been through!"

"No, no I suppose I don't," Larosha replied. She knew nearly everything that had happened, but Juri didn't know that. "Though I wonder if it has anything to do with those ruins to the north."

"Those 'ruins' are what's left of my home, the city I was born in! Terrible, terrible people came into the city with fire and steel and tore it down to the ground!" Sitting up, Juri put her face into the palms of her hands as tears threatened to spill. "All those people… my friends and family… m-murdered. I'm all that's left. Just a one-eyed, bloody mess."

Larosha allowed Juri to sit there in her pathetic stupor for some time. Though the girl heaved and shuddered, she did not cry. The giant spider looming nearby was impressed by that, and for good reason. She had no use for a sobbing, miserable little wretch. Once Juri had her fill Larosha filled the void with her sinister voice once again.

"And how does that make you feel, hmm?"

"Angry!" Juri lashed out. "We had guards, mercenaries and other capable people, and yet the whole city fell! Those… bastards took everything from me!"

"Such is the norm for bandits and raiders, especially those under the employ of Bison."

"Bison? I thought that- The marauder left! We were supposed to be safe!"

"Safe? Your kind, safe? Oh please," Larosha chuckled. "Barring that, the marauder had been dogged by your city's illustrious council for quite some time. It represented the last, brightest bastion of justice in these lands, and a man like Bison couldn't risk leaving it intact. Had the people of Soulsca focused more on killing the man instead of trying to bring him in to stand trial, perhaps the city would still be standing."

"I want him dead."

The spider tilted its head.

"Do you want Bison dead, or do you want justice?"

"I don't want justice! I want him dead and buried in a shallow grave!" Juri roared.

"Then you want revenge. Revenge for the pain he and his minions have inflicted upon you. That's a laudable goal, girl."

If the giant spider was capable of showing outward emotion, Juri would have seen a conniving grin before her sight. But she didn't need to see such a thing to be able to sense the spider's dark desires.

"You wanted to know what I want?"

The young woman hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"You are undoubtedly a bright young woman, so you should have already guessed that I didn't choose to save you out of the goodness of my heart, and that you aren't here for the two of us to have a pleasant conversation. You owe me a debt for my intervention, and for the sanctuary I offer you." Larosha watched as Juri glanced around at her sanctuary, that being a series of nondescript dark caves and rocks, before glaring up at her. "Yes, compared to your lofty abodes and verdant landscapes this sanctuary seems to be a barren hellhole, but what you fail to understand is that there is food, water and shelter here. You may take one of the ancient, dilapidated stone huts here in my sanctuary for your own," Larosha said as she slid a long leg over to a series of pathetic-looking ancient abodes built into the cave wall, "and with a bit of human ingenuity you might even make it your home, considering that yours is no more. My children will not harass you; they may even come to your aid if need be."

"And if I refuse?" Juri asked. "Will you kill me right here and now?"

"You won't refuse," Larosha cooed back. "As I said before, you are a bright young woman. But if you do want to refuse, neither I nor my children will fall upon you. You have proven yourself sympathetic to our kind as a child, and such respect isn't easily lost on us. You will be free to leave, but you will find the world to be far more dangerous than you could have ever imagined. You will not survive as you are now."

Another bout of uncomfortable silence settled between the two before Larosha continued.

"I offer you an opportunity to exact revenge upon the men who massacred your hometown, and the man responsible for orchestrating it all." Juri's one good eye widened in awe at the proposition. "If you accept, you will become my agent in this world and be taught how to survive in it. Your mind, body and soul will be rigorously trained and honed to great capabilities. There is a great power within you, Juri, and it shall be unlocked in due time… only if you pledge your life to me."

Had Juri stumbled upon Larosha a day ago with her family, hometown and left eye alive, intact and untouched respectively, she would have shot down the offer without a second thought. But she had no family anymore, no shelter or friends to take her in and with the loss of her eye she felt so weak that she considered it embarrassing to still be standing. It was crazy to listen to this spider queen's words and even crazier still to consider giving her life to her cause, but Juri would have been insane to deny the opportunity. She had nothing to her name anymore, and while this giant spider was offering her a new life with plenty of strings attached, it was far better than leaving only to be set upon by wolves or bandits in her state.

At least, that was the logical way to look at the whole situation. But Juri was a passionate woman who couldn't ignore the fiery, stabbing fury bubbling up inside her. Logic, after a day like the one she survived through, had no place in this decision.

"I'll do it."


	2. Chapter 2

Though Juri had imagined that she would be thrown into the gauntlet as soon as she was healthy enough, Larosha was wise to disregard the trial by fire ideology. She and her kin allowed the wounded young woman to rest, recover, come to terms with her loss and then, once she was ready for it, they put her to work. At first it was training. Larosha put Juri through arduous regimens to help strengthen her body and enhance her stamina. On some days the young woman had to complete various sets, workout until fatigue set in, bloody her knuckles on wood and stone and much more while on the off days she was encouraged to familiarize herself with the various tunnels and caves of Larosha's domain.

With Juri's body being strengthened and tempered like fine steel, Larosha made sure that she didn't forget to sharpen her mind. Ebony Spiders were large and powerful creatures that none wanted to meet in the darkness, yet raw strength wasn't what they were known for. Juri needed to emulate their cleverness and patience. To the Ebony Queen's delight, Juri proved herself to be a quick study. Her trauma, personality, and affinity for spiders fueled Juri's most defining characteristic, that being her cruelty. She had yet to kill another human being and she hadn't dared to extensively harm one of Larosha's kin, yet the queen could sense the anger burning in Juri's eye and the violence that she was capable of.

In hindsight, it helped when Larosha sent Juri back to the ruins of Soulsca on scavenging runs. The spiders had no use for wood, stone and other goods manufactured by humans, but Juri did. For many months she made the trek up to where she once lived and gathered as many building and crafting materials as she and the few spiders that came with her could carry. Though the fires had burned so much to the ground, there were still books, clothing, food and water to collect if one had an eye for detail like Juri did. Originally the young woman was overcome with grief when she gazed upon the ruins of her city, but as time passed and as she made subsequent scavenging runs the grief turned to seething rage. Every step she took in that dead city only helped to strengthen her desire for revenge.

And so for many years Juri would study like a scholar in Larosha's sanctum, build herself a stable house in one of the ancient stone huts from Soulsca's bones and push her body to the limit and beyond. Her only friends and confidants came in the form of the various spiders that scuttled about while she sharpened her tongue and wit on the very few that were capable of speaking and abstract thought. Larosha, in particular, possessed a hefty amount of ancient knowledge and was learned in philosophy, among other things. She imparted much of what she knew upon Juri and almost always told the truth no matter how painful or hard it was to swallow. The Ebony Queen, though a spider, treated Juri like she was her own daughter instead of a disposable tool.

And then came the day the Han family's sole survivor was given her first mission and her first taste of blood.

There had been a time when Larosha and her kin controlled much more territory than those dank caverns, caves and tunnels they resided in. When other races moved onto the continent and set up shop, many sought diplomatic solutions and, for the most part, were allowed to settle in lands that had little use to the Ebony Spiders. But people, especially humans, were greedy and ambitious, and in due time they banded together to drive the wretched, eight-legged abominations back to their dens. Some communities outright obliterated entire colonies of spiders, even those that posed no threat to them. Larosha desired to rebuild her kin's territory by any means necessary, and so Juri was put up to the task.

The young woman was sent to a faraway port city notorious for being a hive of scum and villainy. Pirates, marauders, murderers and degenerates of every stripe threw their weight around in Batumi while the everyday people sat on their hands in silent resignation. Juri, when she looked upon these people, had no sympathy for them. They were no more innocent than the scum they protected via inaction. Juri's task was a terrible one, but it was made easier when she was performing it against terrible people. She blended in with common travelers, kept her mouth shut and her eye open and never strayed from the package she carried with her in a knapsack on her back.

"The people of Batumi are so used to fending off outside threats," Larosha purred within Juri's mind. "None will suspect what the night will bring. Begin, Juri. Show them how their ill-gotten society crumbles from within."

Juri would never forget her first kill. She marked a target, a marauder that she remembered from the burning carcass of Soulsca, and tracked him to a tavern. Posing as a lady of the night, she lured the detestable man into a private room and overpowered him as soon as his hands reached for her hips. Her fury ran as deep as the blows she inflicted upon his body until a blade to his neck dropped him down to the floor. Juri stared for several minutes as the life drained from his eyes; a sight that would haunt the woman for years to come, yet excite her for even more. In her exhilaration, she almost forgot what her task was. Almost.

Using the same blade that had ended the marauder's life, Juri cut into her kill right down to the viscera and left a parting gift: a single spider egg blessed by Larosha herself.

That night more bodies fell to the ground by Juri's hand. Most of them deserved their sentence while others were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The killings became easier and easier as Juri continued on while sticking to the shadows like a spider. This was not to say that she didn't hesitate or feel remorse for her actions, yet such feelings dimmed through the night until they no longer surfaced. Instead, Juri discovered that she was enjoying all of this from the fighting, the pain, and especially the killing. She took more eggs out of her knapsack and decorated the corpses she left behind until she had run through all that Larosha had given her.

As a reward for a job well done, Larosha allowed Juri to stay in Batumi for a while and savor the fruits of her labor.

In a literal case of death feeding new life the eggs Juri had left behind were nurtured by her kills and, once midnight struck Batumi, they hatched into powerful spider warriors. Over twenty of the ebony abominations writhed and screeched into the night as Larosha's blessing amplified their strength, cunning and depravity while at the same time promoting extreme growth. In the span of minutes the tiny monsters grew to become twice the size of the largest tigers known to man. All within Batumi were caught off guard by this sudden infestation, and by the time the locals banded together to ward off the twenty or so spiders ripping and tearing them apart it was already too late.

By morning Batumi was reduced to a smoldering graveyard with Larosha's army serving as carrion crows. Juri looked over all that she had done, made peace with herself and then returned with a smile on her face and blood on her hands.

* * *

After Juri returned Larosha took her aside and told her that it was time to finally unlock her inner power. The power went by many names. Ki, chi, lifeforce; it was all magic in the end, and it was this magic that Juri would put to use. Hungry for power and the opportunities it could bring, Juri accepted Larosha's offer without hesitation. Barely over the age of 21, Juri's body had matured into one as shapely as her late mother, but not quite as tall. Her muscles were well-defined from countless trials and years of training while her reflexes were honed and as sharp as ever. There was always room for improvement, but Juri figured she was ready for whatever gauntlet Larosha could throw her way.

While unlocking this power did require some physical training and scholarship, Juri discovered that it was her soul that was on the line this time. She followed Larosha's advice and embarked on a series of trials that tested her resolve, bonds and much more. At times she was at odds with physical forces trying to kill her, and at others she was at odds with herself. She needed to rid herself of any and all guilt if she was to advance. Along the way Larosha encouraged her to imbibe a variety of odd and dangerous substances, such as toxins and specially made mutagenic compounds, that served to both enhance her body and leave her teetering on the edge of death only to bounce back feeling more powerful than ever before.

In the span of two to three years Juri's power steadily increased until she reached the pinnacle of what was possible for a human being. Entertained by martial arts and predisposed towards it because of her upbringing Juri discarded any and all weapons she acquired working for Larosha and chose to rely solely on her own power, both physical and internal. Her one, dark violet eye glimmered with energy while faint purple embers swirled around her body whenever she was excited or agitated. Now, to be struck by one of her limbs submerged in dark violent energy was sure to spell certain doom.

By the time Juri turned 25 she had plenty of accolades under her belt. After Batumi was reclaimed Juri was sent to Kliinsburg, Yansuro, Gugurmi, Florsbrook and other nearby points of civilization to do the same thing she had done before. Some cities did not yield as expected to being consumed from within and had to be attacked directly while others were found abandoned with only a few stragglers hurriedly packing carts and wagons with all that they owned. Though Juri did enjoy all the killing, she wasn't a merciless mass murderer. She allowed many citizens of sacked cities to escape and expressed restraint when she came across travelers, peacekeepers and the everyday person just looking to survive.

And so, in the span of ten years Juri had reclaimed all of Larosha's previous territory to the point where the Ebony Spiders were settled and in complete control of over a fifth of the continent. She had tracked down every single marauder that had a hand in Soulsca's destruction and was in Bison's employ at the time and got her revenge, but still she was not sated. Bison was still at large somewhere on the continent, and until he was dead and buried, no-one was safe. In her quest for revenge against a monster who killed her family and destroyed all that she had ever known, Juri remained oblivious to the fact that she herself had become a monster.

The figurative soon became literal.

* * *

"Larosha? Laroooooshaaaaa!" Juri paced the new tunnels carved under the foundation of Soulsca and shouted out over the scuttling, squeaking, screeching and scratching. A large brute of a spider came skittering past her only to be grabbed by the head and directed towards the woman's face. "Hey, do you know where Larosha is?" she asked. The spider, capable of bisecting men in two with a simple swipe of its legs, chittered at Juri until she let it go free. "Huh? But I was just there! Alright, well, thanks anyway."

The brute offered Juri its version of a shrug and waddled away.

Once the grief and painful memories of Soulsca washed away, Juri gave Larosha her blessing to start excavating and settling beneath her ruined hometown. The Ebony Queen had plans to do so from the very beginning, so Juri's blessing was sweet yet unnecessary like a garnish to a meal. When the work started, however, Larosha was nowhere to be seen. One of the many things Juri respected about the spider was that she oversaw the tasks she delegated to her minions and was always around to provide some sage advice or some disgusting, corrosive concoction for tough rocks. For weeks on end Juri kept her distance and assumed that the Ebony Queen needed to rest as she periodically did, but this time her absence had begun to make even Juri, a woman who had been conditioned to deaden her 'weaker emotions', concerned.

"She had better not be avoiding me," Juri grumbled as she picked at her nails. "Oh, you're not ready to fight Bison yet. Listen here you big, eight-legged freak. I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Stop pussyfooting about; you know where he is." The violet-eyed woman glowered at that. "Riiiiiiight. That's right, you do. You must."

Juri turned on her heel and went back the way she came. The most expansive cave networks dug out by the spiders were connected via a series of large hubs that branched off to various rooms such as nurseries and food stores. Travel between said hubs was quick and efficient for the skittering spiders, but for a human, it took some time. Juri bypassed the inconveniences by either utilizing her agility to the point where she was leaping to and fro like the smaller spiders or by hitching a ride upon those who didn't mind carrying her. She went with the latter.

Though it was difficult to near-impossible to determine what the time of day was whilst underground, Juri was certain that the sun had set. Magical flames that adorned the walls of the tunnels and caves seemed to pulse and grow brighter because of it. Juri reached her destination, Larosha's private sanctum, and hopped off of her mount to investigate. Normally so bright and bustling with activity, the Ebony Queen's sanctum was pitch black and silent. Juri snapped her fingers and willed forth a plume of violet energy to light her way as she trekked down a set of rough-hewn stairs to the large, smooth stone slab in the middle of the area. This was where she had first met Larosha and where the Ebony Queen frequented, and so Juri figured the giant spider had to be here somewhere.

"Larosha?" Juri called out as she glanced about with her one good eye piercing through the darkness. "Hey! Quit skulking about. It's been over a month now; I think I deserve an explanation here." Silence, then a sigh. "Either you show yourself or I'll start knocking down some columns."

"That… That will not be necessary."

"Then get down here!"

After a brief and unpleasant silence Larosha finally descended from the ceiling. Being so massive and powerful, not to mention ancient, Juri expected to feel the impact as the spider queen landed in front of her as she usually did. But Juri was aghast to know that Larosha came down with all the grace of an animal in its death throes. The giant crumpled to the floor as if too tired or too weak to remain poised while the carapace that covered her body looked chipped, weak and dull. The pitch-black color had faded to a grayish one, yet it still retained those ancient markings here and there. Even more concerning were Larosha's many eyes which looked misty or glazed over.

The diagnosis did not look good for the Ebony Queen.

"You uh, you don't too good," Juri remarked as she downplayed her concern. She used her flame to get a better look at the creature before dispelling the energy. "What in the world? What happened to you?"

"This, Juri, is natural. You know that I am old. Perhaps far older than the first settlement established on this continent. The years have slipped by so quickly and, for the most part, have been so uneventful that I've lost count of just how old I really am." The spider's mystical voice was soft now as she angled her head to look over Juri's form. "I am dying."

"Dying of old age?" Juri scoffed. "I don't believe you. I saw you a month ago and you looked fine. Stuffy and aloof, but fine."

Like thunder, a low rumble came from Larosha's belly.

"Fufufu… Perceptive as usual. Very well, I fed you a half-truth. I am indeed old and slowly dying, as should be natural, yet the process has been accelerated by two forces."

Juri's eyebrows arched in morbid curiosity.

"You have risen above and beyond my wildest expectations, Juri. In ten years you have helped my kin and I reclaim our ancient territory, and you've bolstered the forces sitting on our borders with your determination and unwavering dedication. Many are eager to expand our territory and have asked for you personally to help pave the way as you have done so many times before." The markings upon Larsoha's carapace glowed ever so slightly as she dipped into a fraction of her power. A shallow deposit of water near Juri began to bubble up and shift about as Larosha worked on turning it into a scrying pool. "However, your actions have not gone unnoticed. Nevermind the peacemakers who pray in their temples for deliverance; the foe you have been opposing for so long has traded in his charisma and influence for power. A terrible, sinister power." A series of dull pops echoed throughout the sanctuary as Larosha moved her many legs to overlook her work and the woman gazing down into it. "You have forced his hand."

Within the water Juri could see a man dressed in blood-red armor with a dark cape draped around his shoulders. Virulent violet energy warped around his figure like a second skin while his soulless white eyes gazed out into the distance for a moment before they whipped up to focus on Juri's face. Then, he smiled. No, it was a disgusting, evil grin that made fear and rage bubble up inside Juri's body. The vision dissipated and soon the water was back to normal, though now showing one of Bison's many victims staring back at herself.

"He, Bison, has cursed me," Larosha explained. "And for that you should feel proud, for this means that we are his quarry, that we have shaken the continent with such righteous fury that even the tremors have made him cautious."

"I feel so honored to have his attention," Juri replied, sarcastic even with venom lacing her tone. "But now because of me, Bison's killing you."

"No… That would be too kind. This curse will leave me broken and lame; too weak to move or think logically. Bison wants me to suffer, and for my children to wither away before he remembers the concept of mercy and exterminates us all."

"I'm not going to let that happen." Juri rolled her shoulders and clenched her fists. "These spiders are the only family I've got now." She turned back to Larosha and gave an inquisitive nod of her head. "So? What's the other force out to get you? Holy warriors, maybe?"

"A force of my own creation," Larosha explained. "I will not go out with a whimper, and I will not leave my children without someone to lead them. Someone strong must take my place, and with it, my power."

The two powerhouses shared a look between each other in silence before Juri's eye widened as realization swept through her. Taking Larosha's place had never been toyed with before, and while Juri did fantasize about the possibilities of having her power and influence, she knew that the whole thing wouldn't work out. The most glaring issue at hand was that Larosha was a giant, ancient spider and that Juri was a human. It was akin to asking a cat to take the place of the mightiest tiger that had ever walked the lands.

"Me? What? No, that's just crazy," Juri replied as she started to glance around the sanctuary. Unfortunately for her, there was no-one else around to put into the spotlight. "I'm hardly qualified to lead. What's wrong with Arania, Riju or Jorōgumo?"

"Those three are not you," Larosha replied matter-of-factly. "They are too ingrained in our traditions and too instilled with the desire to preserve our lineage to take the reins and lead. Jorōgumo in particular, thanks to your subtle directing, has become one of our finest nursers. I desire one who is ambitious, one whose goals are both selfish and selfless. You, who wants to destroy Bison and those who flock to his banner, have reestablished our long-lost territories." The spider chuckled again. "Someone with ambition such as yours is hard to find and very valuable to me."

"You do know that I'm not the kind of woman to stay still, right? Directing things from the comfort of a dark, cozy cave just isn't my style." Juri placed her hands on her hips and leaned in. "But the most glaring thing here, Larosha, is that… well, you're a spider. An Ebony Spider. Unless you've been a shapeshifter this entire time, I see no way that I could ever take your place. Besides… ugh, laying eggs? No thank you."

"Ohohoho, no," Larosha laughed with some difficulty. "I stopped laying eggs thousands of years ago. The process of procreation; I've left that to the breeders, and you've seen just how spoiled they are." The markings upon Larosha's carapace started to glow again as the spider's eyes shimmered with power. "The transferring of power, for us, is not hereditary. It is voluntary. Had I not been cursed and you weren't here, I would have passed my power onto the strongest female here. But you are here today, and you are stronger than my fiercest warriors. From the moment I was first cursed, I started to pool my power here… and it was my hope that you would become the vessel for it all."

Between Larosha and Juri a magical sigil rose from the stone floor. Circular in design and sporting a few intricate flourishes here and there along with ancient glyphs that Juri couldn't decipher, the sigil wasn't something out of the pages of some novice scholar's magical basics book. The lines of the sigil glowed a pale cyan with bits of violet here and there while energy rose from them like steam from a hot spring. The Ebony Queen's markings continued to glow in tune with the pulsing from the sigil, even as she limped a little closer.

"If you accept my offer, I will die, but you will be reborn. You will possess great power; power that can move worlds. Such a thing will surely be able to tear Bison asunder, as well as anything else that stands in your way." Larosha paused and, as if her weakness was drawing out emotion, she dipped into a solemn tone. "My only wish is that you will protect my kin and see them into a new age."

The raven-haired woman clutched at her eyepatch as she thought this through.

"You're really serious about all of this, aren't you? And I wager you're going to keep pushing this towards me…" Juri looked down to the circle, then back up at Larosha and sighed. "Alright. I accept. I'd be lying to myself if I said that I didn't want this." She took a few steps forward and crossed the sigil's threshold to stand right in the center. "Tell me what I need to do."

A wave of silence passed over the two. Usually one could hear the bubbling, trickling of groundwater or the faint scuttling of spiders passing through the various corridors and caves, but all was silent. All that Juri could hear was her own heartbeat as it thumped away in her chest.

"Leave everything to me," Larosha cooed. "And Juri… Thank you."

Juri would have replied if not for the rumbling under her feet. Alarmed, she looked down and saw five jagged stone posts shoot out from the sigil's outer limits and curl towards her like talons. They were tipped with sharp obsidian points that could rend flesh and bone, and said tips shot down and into Juri's body from various angles. Two cut into her shoulders and held her down while two others shot into her hips. Juri howled and squirmed in agony as the obsidian dug deeper with her blood spilling onto the sigil below. Her cries of pain were soon silenced by the final post as it surged into her stomach from the front and slid up through her ribs to her heart.

Her one eye grew dark as she stood there impaled within the sigil. Larosha loomed over Juri like a predator would their hapless prey, but in the spider's darkening eyes there was anything but ill will. Larosha sank her legs into the stone around Juri and curled her body over the woman as she spoke like a mother would to a sick child.

"Sleep, Juri… Sleep..."

In the shadow of the colossus, bleeding out and so close to death, Juri could only oblige by slipping into unconsciousness.

* * *

It was unknown how long it took. Hours, days, a month or so. It felt like eons to Juri as she drifted through an indescribable abyss. All was darkness until the air, more like liquid, began to glow around her. Energy swirled around her frame and pierced her body to make changes while power seeped into her veins and strengthened her soul. Air filled her lungs and encouraged her to start breathing. Her heart, previously ruptured, reformed and began to beat with all the intensity of a war drum. Magic coursed through her figure and stimulated her nerves with such efficiency that not even the most potent of drugs or chemicals could compare.

In time Juri was brought back to the land of the living.

When she awoke, Juri found herself back where it had all began. The stone floor beneath her body was coated in slime and liquids while a strange shell unfolded all around her. She coughed and heaved until her airways were clear before lifting her head to take a look around. Larosha's sanctuary, and it was much brighter than it had ever been before. Ebony Spiders of all shapes and sizes clung to the walls, ceiling and other surfaces as they observed the woman on the stone slab. They had been waiting for her, for such a long time.

"Muh… W-what happened… Larosha?" Juri reached out with her hands to prop herself up, yet she stopped as soon as she noticed she was looming over a clear deposit of water. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "..."

Staring back at Juri was a woman with two dark violet eyes. She reached up to touch her left eye socket and gasped when she realized that her eye had been restored, and somehow it felt magical. Subtle markings, like the ones upon Larosha's carapace, adorned her iris. But the new eye wasn't the biggest change to Juri's appearance. Her limbs were coated with a thin yet impossibly sturdy black carapace that looked very similar to demonic armor. On closer inspection the material seemed to pulse as if alive, as if it was a second skin.

Juri got onto her knees and ran her hands down her figure to continue her discovery. Her nails were dangerously sharp whilst covered by that black carapace, yet as she focused on it the carapace upon her hands retracted and slid down to her wrists to reveal the pale, creamy-white skin underneath. Her torso was covered with the carapace as well, but only so much as modesty was concerned. It was as if she was wearing a dudou from her native land. Juri slid her fingers along her bare midriff and trailed further down before she came to the realization that her entire body was covered with the same sturdy material that comprised Larosha's carapace.

In a sense, she was wearing nothing at all, yet was still covered up. A dark and sensual part of Juri shivered at the observation and found it liberating. She looked back down at her reflection and admired how her raven-colored hair had been left alone, save for it being put in a sinister, spider-fang style that hung behind her head. But this wasn't even the most glaring change to Juri's body. As she went to stand she realized that there was a new weight upon her back and, being curious, the woman turned to examine it.

Four spindly and jagged limbs jutted out from Juri's back like spider legs. Like her new nails, the points were tipped with sharp obsidian that cut into flesh as if it was paper, and Juri knew this firsthand. She winced as her curious fingers came back with fresh cuts before humming in intrigue as those same cuts healed in the blink of an eye. The spider limbs recoiled at Juri's thoughts and emotions for she could surely control them. Once she had her fill with testing out those new limbs Juri breathed a sigh of relief when all four of them folded in on themselves and pressed themselves tightly against her back as if they were a part of her armor.

"Larosha! Larosha you…" Juri glanced around the area and searched the spiders gathered, but none of them resembled Larosha at all. The only thing that had anything similar to the giant was the shell of a cocoon that Juri had risen out of, which seemed to be the same shape and size as Larosha's swollen abdomen. "I see. So this is what you meant." The woman- hardly a human anymore- looked down at her hands in thought. "Hehehe… Your power is mine now. There's so much of it that… that frankly, it's intoxicating. The things I can do now will be recorded in all the history books for centuries to come!"

She then gazed over at the few pieces of Larosha's carapace that now adorned her limbs.

"Larosha. I won't promise to uphold all of your tenets, but I will see to it that your kind will live on. You're owed that much and more." Juri spun on her heel and walked out towards the gathered spiders seeking an audience. Many spiders recoiled in awe and respect when she approached them. "Now listen! Hear me and obey! You are a powerful, cunning lot, and it's time that the surface remembered that. They pray to their apathetic gods and sit on their hands while monsters like Bison destroy their lands and slaughter their people. Ha! And they demonize us and seek to exterminate us all instead of turning their attention to their greatest threat! I have no sympathy for any of them," Juri growled through gritted teeth. "We've spent enough time skulking about in the shadows. I say we reclaim what is rightfully ours! It's time to show the world just what kind of monsters we are!"

The Ebony Spiders began to chitter and squeak with Juri's words, and to her glee, she realized that she could understand each and every single one of them. They were eager to fight, and if necessary, they were eager to die for their queen. Juri felt the limbs on her back unfurl as she swept her hand over her new subjects. This was it. This was the beginning of their enemy's reckoning!

"We're gonna throw one hell of a party! Ahahahaha!"

* * *

 **END**


End file.
